Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Metrocon

Did Someone Say Conference?

In this day and age, there is conference for everyone.I’m no stranger to conferences as there were plenty to attend in my former career as a business consultant.Just a few weeks ago in Dallas, the annual Mary Kay convention was held - where schlepping make up is brought to the national stage.There are conferences for being a better person and ones for buying property with no money down. But this one was different.This was my first interior design conference!Metrocon 10.

Flanked by several of my classmates, I made my way to the Metrocon here in Dallas.Being that our History of Furniture professor was attending as well, we got to skip out on our Thursday class – yipppeee!One of the purposes of Metrocon is to keep up with your interior design certifications.It’s actually a fun and great way to do just that!

With my “girls” (L TO R: Myself, Erin and Lisa) at Metrocon.No, we’re not drunk…the Design Guide encourages us to put on costumes and then dance around for 7 minutes.Afterwards, we each received our own flip books full of our images.Perfect for your next party or wedding by the way.Goofy but absolutely memorable…

In addition to being held at the Dallas Market Center, Metrocon is essentially the big trade show for interior designers.Along with 245 vendors and 360 booths, they also offer 29 continued education courses that you can take (which I didn’t, as 3 classes at the Art Institute is enough for me right now).The show draws professionals from all over the southwest (20 states to be exact) and they cover everything from hospitality to healthcare and retail to residential.

HIGH TECH MEDIA ROOM!

For the client wanting the latest and greatest for their media room, this was the place to be!By inserting a blue-ray disc into the sound system, you were synched up to a website that would download the movable chairs in the room.Truly amazing…In addition, you got to see everything in the virtual room in 3-D.It’s not just for kids movies anymore.Needless to say, my classmates and I were very impressed!

SHERWIN-WILLIAMS

I also chatted with Sherwin Williams. They had a spectacular shiny textured paint finish on display.(I actually think I might use it in my dining room ceiling – get your shoulders ready, sweetie!)In addition, Sherwin Williams also offers coordinating paint for the Robert Allen Fabrics.This allows them to perfectly match the seemingly limitless combinations of paint and fabric.What a fantastic partnership!Not only does this simplify the process for us designers but also for those color challenged clients.

But what really made my day was the offer to send me a new and usable fan deck for me personally – with samples that I can actually use in my business Carla Moss Interiors.Yeah! Samples and vendors were bountiful.I dropped in my card and the vendors handed over the goods.This is much easier than sitting at my desk and begging for samples.I even talked with the Steinway piano dude – remembering that sometimes I may actually have to order a piano for a client.How cool is that?

All in all, it was an interesting experience.Billed as large and exciting, it was almost fit the bill.We anticipated being there a lot longer than we actually were but that was just the icing on the cake for the night.We were tired!For my first interior design conference, it was fantastic.I was glad to get my feet wet and when school is over (very soon, I hope) – it will be a convenient place for my continuing ed classes.So, for now I bid adieu to Metrocon 10 and to all the spectacular wares that I saw.

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About Me

"And why not?" they asked me. I was silent. "What is holding you back from your dream?" I had to agree. I had read too many design magazines, painted too many hues and dreamed up too many room layouts not to try. So, I'm off to the Art Institute to get my degree in Interior Design. All while starting my own design company, working for a great designer, reading about the industry... and simply making it happen. :)